Occhi, Decicco help Onteora upset Coleman in MHAL semifinals

STONE RIDGE — The players on the Onteora girls' basketball team are the first to admit they don't have nearly as much talent as the squad from John A. Coleman Catholic.

WILLIAM MONTGOMERY

STONE RIDGE — The players on the Onteora girls' basketball team are the first to admit they don't have nearly as much talent as the squad from John A. Coleman Catholic.

At the same time, they felt like the heart with which they played on Tuesday night more than made up for the difference.

Julia Occhi scored 22 points and had 12 rebounds and Adriana Decicco had 13 points and 10 rebounds as Onteora beat Coleman Catholic 49-42 in a Mid-Hudson Athletic League semifinal at SUNY Ulster.

Onteora had played Coleman Catholic, the defending MHAL champion, tough during the regular season, losing 37-36 on Jan. 4 at home. Still, that loss gave the Indians a boost of confidence heading into the semifinal.

"We knew we could beat them," Occhi said. "Yeah, they have more skill than we do, but we have more heart. We play harder and we finish from the beginning to end. We just played our hardest."

The game was tied after one quarter, but Onteora used an 8-0 run in the second quarter to pull ahead by 11 points at halftime.

Coleman Catholic rallied with a 12-0 run between the third and fourth quarters to narrow Onteora's lead to two points. Occhi, however, made five free throws in the fourth quarter as Onteora clinched a berth in the MHAL final for the first time since 2001.

Coleman is "seventh in the state and we're ranked 23rd," Decicco said of the state Class B rankings. "We came out and won, so that's a big deal for us and me especially."

For Occhi, a junior point guard, the rebounds were a surprise. She snared nine of her 12 rebounds in the first half.

"That never happens to me," she said. "I'm usually up top. I like playing post player. Being a universal player is pretty sweet in my opinion, being able to do anything for the team."

Emily Curley had 15 points and 13 rebounds for Coleman Catholic (13-4). Kiera Wolff and Shannon Gildea each had 11.

Onteora (14-3) will play Wallkill for the title at 5 p.m. Thursday. The two teams did not meet during the regular season, but the Onteora players did watch some of Wallkill's semifinal win over Marlboro.

"I can tell they play hard and they play with heart," Occhi said. "They're going to want this game as much as we do, so it's going to be really tough to win. I'm not going to lie."